Recently, out of my collection of videos, I screened the PBS documentary entitled, Liberty, a six hour retrospective telling the tale of the American fight for independence, narrated by actors sharing actual written history taken from letters, diaries, and other documents from people many of us had never heard of. One of the recurring characters is a wood-be soldier who ended up fighting in the colonial army, sharing his life during the 8 year long conflict, another a 16 year old teenager’s tale recorded in her diary as the British attempt to win the war using southern sympathizers. It’s a rich documentary, well constructed, thoughtful, filled with living history presented in such a way that one can truly see the choices people make can and DO effect others which makes history something more than dates, and tired dead facts. Read More »

Recently, via email, I was confronted by an opinion of people who are or aspire to the ministry of the diaconate as “church rats”, and an order within the greater church which is not taken seriously, and more than this, thought of as irrelevant. These harsh words have a history which I will not air in this arena, but I thought it might be a good idea to take an aggressive opinion, and re-frame it as a teaching moment.

The Deacon as Church Rat:

Oh, that the church would have more rats as these! One of the principle duties and functions of the deacon is to represent the church in the world. In order to do this, one must know what is going on, not only in the parish (a home church contained within the wider mega church), but to understand the dynamics of the diocese, and the thrust of the principle ministries of the Bishop. Read More »

Icons are strange things; they act as a window into oneâ€™s spiritual soul breathing life into your own individual sacred journey. Icons agree to meet youâ€¦as isâ€¦just as you are without pretense or judgment. Staring at an icon, one which is prayerfully conceived is like gazing at a lover with all the emotions attached to it. The power of iconography embraces the mysterious communication reaching out, moving beyond one dimension as it has the power to envelop the viewer with soulful communication. Icons sometimes offer us the space to connect with what Thomas Merton called lifeâ€™s â€śhidden wholenessâ€ť allowing us a chance to rest in what I like to call a â€śsacred ambiguity.â€ť Read More »